A Moment's Madness
by SeasideFantasy
Summary: What if it had been the Archangel, and not Orb, to pick up Athrun after his big fight with Kira?
1. Intro

Dearka lay on the infirmary bed taking in the interior of the ship that he had been trying to destroy for the last few months. It felt just a little strange. When in battle, often you forgot that the thing you were trying to destroy wasn't just a hollow shell, but that everything had something more. Every mobile suit had a person piloting it, every person had a life story, and every person's life story could fill a dozen books. But the whole thing could be completely wiped out with a single, thoughtless, pull of the trigger. He had always thought of the Archangel as an empty hull, just like the enemies in the games he loved to play. But now, lying on the bed with his hands tied tightly behind his back, he saw things a little differently. This, like every one of ZAFT's ships, had a crew, an inside. He thought back to the girl he had passed in the hallway earlier and found himself wondering what she was doing on board a ship at such a young age. She hardly seemed the soldier type.

He sighed, and threw his thoughts aside. Isn't that how they teach you to look at the enemies? They were fighting for their lives and for the lives of others; they couldn't afford to let dumb, sentimental thoughts get in the way. He stared boorishly at the ceiling, and was about to start counting tiles when the door slid open and two men carrying a stretcher between them entered.

Dearka propped himself onto his elbow, and watched them with unmasked curiously. He was about to ask what was going on, but then noticed the forbidding looks on the two soldier's faces and wisely decided it could wait. He watched as they unceremoniously dropped the limp figure on the bed opposite him. Dearka shifted so he might get a better view of the patient, and felt his eyes grow wide with shock.

"Athrun?"

One of the guards turned to glare at him, but remained silent as his partner pulled out a thick looking pare of handcuffs and attached one end to Athrun's right wrist and the other to the bed. At first it confused Dearka considering his own hands had been tied together behind his back without a second thought given to how uncomfortable it would be to lay down. But upon further inspection he discovered their reasons. Athrun's left arm was at an odd angle, obviously broken, and in more places than one. If they intended to restrain him, that was the only humane way to do it.

Once they had finished, the two men turned to leave.

"Hey, wait!" Dearka yelled, coming back to his senses. "What happened?"

The younger of the two turned and looked uncertainly at his older companion. The older one's face hardened.

"Ask your friend." He said icily, motioning to the motionless Athrun. He then left, followed closely by his friend.

* * *

**AN:** Yeah, I know I'm no writer, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway. :P Despite how it may seem, this story is NOT about Dearka! (Just in case you didn't read the description ;) ) I already have the next few chapters written out, but I'm kinda stuck at the moment, so I decided to go ahead and post the intro for you guys.


	2. Chapter 1

**A few hours earlier**

"Captain!"

Murrue jumped as the silence on the bridge was suddenly broken, awaking her from her reverie which had been so deep she could have fallen asleep without knowing.

No one had been happy with her decision of leaving Kira and Tolle behind, least of all her. None of the younger crew members had so much as looked at her since the decision had been made and even Mu had refused to accept it at first. But after a heated discussion she wished they could have avoided, he gave in. The whole ship had been unnaturally quiet ever since. The only words spoken to her were quiet, sad, and said with downcast eyes. She had heard many times that it was lonely at the top, but now she could testify to it.

"Yes? What is it?" Murrue asked, looking up.

"The Zakus, mam, they're retreating!"

"What?" Confusion laced Murrue's voice. "Are you sure?"

"Yes mam. "

"But... Do you know why?"

"No, I..." Neumann halted as a message appeared on the display in front of him. Running his eyes quickly over it his face took on a look of enlightenment.

"Actually," He said slowly his eyes still glued to screen. "I believe I do."

Curious, Murrue got up from her chair and stood behind him to get a better look. Neumann moved aside for her and began summarizing it.

"It's a message from Alaska. The Earth Forces have launched an attack on a nearby ZAFT base, and from the looks of it ZAFT is recalling all their forces in the area to help defend."

_'Well that would certainly explain it._' She thought, tuning out the rest of Neumann's explanation and reading over the information on the screen herself. It seemed that the attack was a big to do and had been planned for quite sometime prior. Unlike most of the half cooked hit and runs which the Earth Forces were so famous for. Murrue didn't know who the odds favored in this fight, but either way, it had bought them enough time to get the Archangel safely to Alaska.

And perhaps a little more...

_oooooooooo_

"Commander La Flaga!"

Mu turned round at the sound of his name and found himself face to face with Murrue. "Yeah?"

"Come with me."

Murrue lead him to a side of the bay away from the many engineers absorbed in their work. "The Zakus have ceased pursuit." She said once they were out of hearing. "The EFA launched an attack on a ZAFT base and they have been recalled."

"Wow, that's a stroke of luck! What are you telling me for?" He asked, folding his arms and looking at her quizzically. Sure it was great news, but the reason Murrue felt she had to come all the way down here to tell him personally when the rest of the ship would undoubtedly know within the next ten to twenty minutes was beyond him.

"Because I've given orders to turn back and look for Kira and Tolle, and I want you to lead the search party." She said without hesitation, and with a certainty in her voice that could make even a General forget that she wasn't the one in charge.

"Wha... Really!?"

"Yes." She nodded. "We'll be there in less than an hour, so you might want to start forming your search party commander."

He grinned pure joy. "Aye, aye captain!" He responded, saluting her with all the enthusiasm his arm had.

_oooooooooo_

Murrue watched Mu almost skip away on his quest to find volunteers, and couldn't help but smile inside. His boyish excitement was quite contagious as he moved about the bay, slowly spreading the word. They didn't have time to make a list of people he would need, so instead he went from person to person, selecting those who he thought would be most useful in the search.

But as she looked on a cloud formed across her face.

By going back, she was of course disobeying a direct order given to her by a superior officer, to get to the Alaska base as quickly as possible. But that wasn't the thing that bothered her, she'd disobey an order any day if it meant possibly saving the life of one of her crew, and willingly face the consequences of her actions afterward. No matter what they may be.

But every piece of evidence suggested that both boys were dead, and though that didn't sway her decision in the least, she just hoped that turning back would raise the spirits of her crew, and not crush them.

_oooooooooo_

They arrived at the destination half an hour later. If Kira or Tolle were alive, Mu was determined to find them.

Mu glance at his search party of twenty odd people, spread out across the large area of forest. The majority of them were mechanics, Murdoch being among them. The remainder of the party was composed of a few soldiers who had come with them from Heliopolis, and anyone else the ship could spare along with himself and Sai, who he had allowed to come after a fierce amount of begging. But looking at him now, Mu wondered if that had really been the best idea. They'd been searching for a whole hour now and come up with nothing. Everyone's spirits were low, and any hope of finding either Kira or Tolle seemed a long way off. When they had first started, Sai had been the the most persistent one in the group, calling Kira and Tolle's names every few seconds, and refusing to move on until every rock in the vicinity had been up turned. But now he walked with his head down and every step he took dragged with disappointment.

Mu slowed his step until his pace matched that of Sai's.

"You ok?" He asked.

"Huh? "The teenager looked up at Mu as if noticing him for the first time. "Y..yeah, I'm fine."

"You know, it's not too late to turn back." Mu said after a moment. "I can't promise that what we'll find will be pretty."

"I know." Sai spoke so softly Mu almost missed it. "I knew that before we left the ship, but I couldn't just sit around and do nothing. I _can't. _I have to see for myself, I have to..." He broke off, and turned his head away, but Mu could clearly see the pain in his eyes.

Mu sighed and felt his own heart sink. "I know kid. I know."

They walked on a little ways longer without another word, halfheartedly scanning every area they passed with the others. It was a hot day, and the jungle around them made up for the lack of sun on their back by making everything below that much more humid. The fact that it had rained recently didn't help.

"Sir! I think I see something!" Both Sai and Mu looked up at the cry. One of the mechanics had gotten a little ahead of the group, and was pointing to something out of their sight. The party hurried to where the man was with Mu in the lead, and sure enough through the thick procession of trees Mu caught a bit of blue on white.

"It's the Strike!" He yelled, his heart leaping in his chest. Mu raced towards it, behind he could hear Sai's repeated cries.

"Kira? Tolle? KIRA?!"

Mu was the first to make it to the beach. Clearing the reaches of the forest in a time that would make even coordinators proud. But when he got the chance to look around, he felt his heart stop. Everything in sight was charred and black. The trees that bordered the beach looked as if they had caught fire, then suddenly been put out, leaving them bare of all leaves and as black as their surroundings. The beach itself was littered with many large pieces of metal which looked as if they had once belong to something, but what that had once been was anyone's guess. Indeed, the only thing Mu could recognized was the Strike, and even that not by much.

"Kira..."

Sai had caught up, and was now standing motionless next to Mu, a look of horror and disbelief covered his face.

After a few moments Mu turned to Murdoch and spoke in a quiet voice. "Come on, let's see what we can find."

* * *

**AN: **Thanks everyone for all the reviews on my last chapter! I honestly didn't think I'd get any until the story picked up a bit, but I guess I was wrong. Lol

Any critique is very welcome! One of the reasons I'm putting my story up here is to improve my writing, so criticism will not be looked on with an unfriendly eye. (Preferably constructive criticism though, since comments like "This sucks!" though true, are a little too vague for me to improve on. :P)


	3. Chapter 2

They searched for hours on end, but found no sign of Kira other than the blackened remains of the Strike Gundam, the cockpit of which was empty.

It was a different story with Tolle. Earlier, one of the search party had discovered a charred helmet lying on the beach which, despite the fact all color was now gone, was unmistakably the same one Tolle had flown out with earlier that very same day. A tear slipped quietly down Sai's cheek as he remembered Tolle's confident face on Miriallia's screen as he announced he was heading out to support the Strike.

Behind him, Sai heard Mu's voice announce that they had finished loading what they could of the Strike's remains, and they soon would have to give up the search and head out. But Sai had already stopped searching half an hour ago, when he had accidentally overheard some of the repair crew talking about the odds of Kira's survival. Even if he did eject, it was extremely unlikely that he had escaped such a large blast in time.

Sai walked aimlessly beside the beach for a little longer, watching the water lap at his feet. It was the first time he'd ever been to the beach, and had it been any other day he would have been overwhelmed with excitement, but it all seemed so meaningless now. After a few minutes he looked up, ready to turn around and head back when he saw someone lying face down in the sand a little ways off. He felt his heart skip a beat, and a single word escaped his lips.

"Kira?"

Before he knew what was happening, he was running full speed towards the shape yelling Kira's name repeatedly all the way. It didn't take long for him to reach the spot, but once he did, he stopped short and stared at the body on the ground in front of him . He felt his heart sink once again. The flight suit was not the familiar blue and white he was used to, but red, the color dyed dark by the waves that washed up on the shore around him.

It didn't take long for the rest of the search party to get there. After all his shouting it was a wonder a ZAFT fleet wasn't in sight. Each new arrival displayed the same reaction. A heavy disappointment quickly replaced by fear and uncertainty. A tight circle soon formed around the unconscious pilot, the people in front trying to keep their distance, and the people in back pushing forward to get a better view. A low murmur went around the circle.

"…ZAFT soldier…"

"…wonder where he came from…"

"… think he's the pilot of one of those mobile suits?"

"…probably the one who destroyed the Strike…"

The atmosphere suddenly turned hostile as the last sentence was uttered, and Sai started to worry things might get out of hand. Just then, Mu pushed his way to the front of the crowd, apparently unaware of what was going on.

"Make way, coming through." He stopped short at the sight of the ZAFT pilot and stared at him blankly for a moment. Everyone went quite as they waited for a reaction. Mu's face slowly became grave. "A ZAFT pilot huh?"

"What are we going to do with him?" Murdoch asked from the back of the crowd.

Mu crouched down and put his hand on the pilot's back. "Well, we can't just leave him here." He frowned. "I'll contact the captain and tell her what we found. In the meantime, you might as well get him out of that suit and send for a stretcher. You can show me what you find afterward."

"You three," He said, standing up and addressing a young mechanic and two soldiers, "stay here and help Murdoch. The rest of you, pick up your equipment and head back to the ship."

A murmur of reluctant agreement went around and Mu headed off to break the news. Once Mu was out of sight Murdoch took charge.

"Alright Reece," He said addressing the red haired mechanic. "I want you to help; you two, run and grab the stretcher."

Reece jumped quickly over to help as Murdoch knelt to turn the Zaft pilot over. The younger of the two guards turned to get the stretcher but stopped when his companion didn't move to follow. The young man frowned and gently laid his hand on the older man's shoulder. The man looked up, then followed reluctantly, casting the pilot an icy look as he went.

Sai stood back and watched silently as Murdoch and Reece remove the pilot's helmet, then carefully proceed to unzip his flight suit. The first thing Sai noticed was the pilot's age. He was young, younger than the other ZAFT pilot they had on board. His hair looked black in Murdoch's shadow, but Sai thought he caught a hint of blue. Odd, but not unheard of with coordinators.

They were in the middle of removing his arms from the suit when the young pilot groaned and tossed his head uneasily.

"Umm, I... I think his arm is broken." Reece commented, pulling his hands away uncomfortably.

Murdoch leaned over to check and frowned, "I think you're right."

They continued with a little more consideration than before and soon had the flight suit off.

"Look, here's his dog tag!" Reece cried excitedly, and started reading as if in doing so he might uncover a great secret. "Name: Zala, Athrun. Blood type: O. Branch: Rau Le Creuset ZAFT special forces team." He finished and stared at the small piece of metal blankly.

"Huh."

"Give me that!" Murdoch growled, causing Reece to jump as the small tag was snatched from his hands. "That's for the commander to go over, not you."

In time, the two guards returned with the stretcher and laid the still unconscious pilot on it. Murdoch gave the carriers some instructions concerning where to put him and how to restrain him, then added that the kid's arm was broken and they should inform the doctor while they were at it. Sai saw the older one make a face, but they both nodded and walked off carrying the newfound prisoner between them.

The sun was starting to set by this time, causing long shadows to be cast over the charred battle ground. Sai felt himself shiver.

"You might want to follow them back to the Archangel." Murdoch commented, leaning down to pick up the pilot's things. "It's been a hard day for everyone. I'll go and take these things to the commander. You should get some rest."

Sai nodded, suddenly realizing how tired he was. "I'll see you back on the ship."

* * *

**AN:** I hope you liked it! A big thanks to my new bata reader, superiortechnology for going over this for me! *hugs*


	4. Chapter 3

"A ZAFT pilot?"

"Yeah." Mu confirmed with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "Who'd have guessed?"

Murrue looked down at her hands clasped on the desk in front of her, seeming to forget the other two people who currently occupied the same small, yet homely room which doubled as her quarters and office.

Badgiruel looked at Mu, her eyes none too friendly. "And you gave orders for him to be brought aboard?" she asked, seizing her chance to interrogate.

"Well, yeah. I couldn't very well just leave him there."

Badgiruel made a irritated noise and turned back to Murrue. "Captain, I must object. We're already holding one ZAFT pilot prisoner despite the fact the ship is woefully undermanned. I think holding two ZAFT pilots is not only unnecessary, but dangerous." She shot Mu a sharp, disapproving look as she finished, then waited for an answer.

"And what would you have me do**,** lieutenant?" She asked, a sad look in her eyes. "Leave him? Shoot him in cold blood?" She sighed and shook her head. "No, I'm afraid the only option we have at this point is to bring him on board. Alaska isn't too from here. We'll just have to trust the crew to make it until then."

* * *

After being formally dismissed from his meeting with lieutenant Badgiruel and the captain, Mu made his way through the many brightly lit, yet virtually deserted corridors that led down to the docking bay to see if the search party had returned. When he arrived he found Murdoch directing the placement of the few small pieces of the Strike they'd managed to scavenge.

"No, not there! We want it _out _of the way!" Murdoch yelled, the exasperation in his voice was only too apparent. He caught sight of Mu and a smile broke his stern face. "Ah, commander, how did it go?"

"Alright, I guess." Mu said, standing next to the head mechanic and looking on at the progress they'd made. "We decided to keep him at least. Do you have his things?"

"Yup! Right over there." Murdoch replied, pointing to a red and white bundle laying atop the small table beside them.

Mu took it and scattered the contents across the limited area of tabletop he was able to clear of tools. Sifting through it, he found a 40 caliber semi automatic handgun with an extra round of ammo, a small bag containing a first aid kit and a few small meals, some other emergency supplies**, **a communicator, and a simple yet exceptionally well made knife which Mu took a moment to admire. It was all very interesting, but there was nothing in the pile that an average pilot wouldn't have.

He heard something drop to the floor and leaned down to pick it up. A small smile tugged at the corner of Mu's mouth. Just what he needed**;** a dog tag. He briefly scanned the information on the small metal plate and frowned.

"Zala. Where have I heard that name before?"

The chief mechanic looked over and shrugged in an unconcerned manner.. "I dunno, maybe you caught part of their transmission during a battle?"

"No." Mu answered, shaking his head slowly. "I don't think so." Murdoch made no reply and Mu looked up. "Where's the pilot now?"

"The kid broke his arm so I sent him to the infirmary."

"Right." Mu said, tapping the tag thoughtfully against his hand. "I think I'll go check on him. Would you have these things taken care of?" He motioned to the pile of ZAFT equipment, and walked off without waiting for an answer.

* * *

_That name…_ Mu couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew he'd heard it someplace before. Maybe seeing the pilot would jog his memory. If not, he'd turn to the database for an answer. Mu stopped and pressed a button on the wall**,** causing the two slabs of seemingly solid metal in front of him to slide open. As he entered the ship's infirmary he was greeted by a pair of purple eyes from the other end of the room belonging to the first ZAFT pilot they had picked up.

The young man studied him for a moment, then laid his head back on the pillow.

"Whadda you want?"

"Nothing much." Mu shrugged, then nodded to the other bed in the room. "Just came in to welcome our new guest."

He moved over to the bed he had indicated and glanced down at the occupant. It only took one look from Mu to realize he'd never seen the youth before in his life. Sure, the guy wasn't conscious right now, but Mu didn't think a kid with with blue hair would have escaped his memory. He frowned thoughtfully then turned to the blond teenager.

"So, you're.." Mu racked his brain for the information he'd received earlier**,** "Elsman, right?"

The pilot shrugged. "That or Dearka. Whatever flies your ship."

"Right. I don't suppose you could tell me where I might have heard this kid's name before. 'Zala'?"

The teenager stared at him for what seemed like a whole minute before bursting into a fit of laughter. "Well, let me see. I hear he was pretty good as Juliet in that one school play. If not there, I can't imagine where you could have _possibly_ heard that name before."

Mu had a sudden urge to opened the door and let some air in. The sarcasm emanating from this kid was suffocating. Obviously Zala was a name he thought every idiot should know, or... absolutely nothing.

"Thanks..." He said uncertainly, turning to look at the unconscious kid behind him. He was just about ready to give up and walk away when something caught his eye.

Mu frowned. "Hey, I thought this kid's arm was broken."

Dearka looked from Mu to the bed across as if missing the point. "Yeah?"

"Why hasn't the doctor fixed him up?"

The blond gave him a funny look. "Seriously? You're asking _me_?"

* * *

"Commander!"

Mu turned at the sound of his military title to see Murrue walking towards him from an adjoining hall to his left**,** and waited for her to catch up.

"You do know you can call me Mu, right?" He asked grinning as she fell into step beside him.

Murrue smiled, but ignored the question. "Where are you headed?"

"The bay. You?"

"The very same."

"Really?" Mu raised his eyebrows in surprise. " And why would that be?"

Murrue sighed and a tired look entered her eyes. "I don't suppose you've wondered why we're not moving yet."

Mu had to paused and think about it before realizing that the ship was indeed still immobile. "No." He said jogging to catch up with her again "But now that you mention it, why?"

"The thrusters, among other things, got hit during the battle." Murrue stated."They were fine while running, but Murdoch seems to be having trouble getting them to start up again."

"What?"Mu asked, raising his eyebrow skeptically.** "**Don't tell me we've finally found something that man can't fix!"

They stopped in front of the elevator and Murrue pressed the down button with a slight shrug. "I don't know. You forgetthat since the Archangel was still technically in the testing stage when we took her out, we didn't have many spare parts to start with."

They stepped into the elevator and Mu leaned casually back on the rail as they started moving down.

"We could call Orb."

Murrue shook her head. "No. Even if we could I wouldn't allow it. They've helped more than enough already. "

Mu sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Communications are out to then, huh?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Were you able to tell Orb that we've already conducted a search before the com went out?"

Murrue's jaw tightened slightly and she looked away. "No, but they'll need to pick up what's left of the Strike and Aegis anyway. We just don't have the equipment on board to do it ourselves."

* * *

Murdoch was standing in the middle of the bay waiting for them when they arrived. Around him the other mechanics worked in a flurry of orange jumpsuits to get the ship working. Occasionally one of the younger men would run over to give reports to Murdoch from the farther reaches of the ship where some of the more serious repairs were going on.

"What's the situation?" Murrue asked Murdoch as they approached.

Murdoch looked up. "Not good I'm afraid. When the engine got hit it fried some of the wiring. So when we tried to fire up the thrusters the plasma release valve didn't open and the computer wasn't able to detect the pressure build up in time."

Mu frowned. "I didn't feel an explosion."

Murdoch shot him a slightly irritated look."There wasn't one. The build up was only enough to blow a few of the valves. Normally it wouldn't be a problem, but parts have to come from somewhere, and we don't have any."

"Could we use the Strike's thrusters?"

Murdoch gave Mu a look that obviously stated his now rock bottom opinion of him. "Even if they did work, the Strike's thrusters wouldn't give us a fourth of the thrust we need to move on earth. Unless you plan on racing a snail."

Mu thought he heard a chuckle from Murrue's direction, but when he looked she was busily going over the information on the clipboard Murdoch had just handed her.

"Fine then. Is there anything we can do?" He asked folding his arms defensively.

"There's a box of duct tape in the storage room."

Mu felt his jaw drop. "You're joking, right?"

Murdoch shrugged. "Only half. All we really need right now is something to hold her together until we can get the parts."

"Oy..." Mu brought his hand to his face and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Whatever it takes." Murrue said, handing the board back to Murdoch.

"Yes mam. But..." He halted.

Murrue raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Could we slow down a bit? My crew's exhausted and I could used a few hours sleep myself."

Murrue smiled. "Of course. I think the same holds true for the rest of the crew as well. Do you think you could have it done by tomorrow?"

"Positive."

"Good. I'll go inform the crew."

* * *

Both men paused to watch her leave, then Murdoch turned and started to prepare the night's shift.

Mu shook himself out of the daze. "Hey Murdoch?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you know who it was that brought the kid in?"

"The one you think you know?"

Mu nodded.

"It was Birch and Dan. Why do you ask?"

Mu shook his head. "It's nothing important. Do you know where I can find them?"

"They've been playing cards in that corner over there ever since I came in." Murdoch said, gesturing to the far corner of the noisy bay. "They wanted to help, but there's nothing but mechanics work to do."

Mu turned and nodded his thanks as he glimpsed the two men among an arrangement of boxes made into a set of seats with a table between them.

As he approached Mu was able to make out the two men's faces and was somewhat taken aback at the age difference. The younger one seemed to have just graduated from his teens, had a mop of dark brown hair and a pair of quite green eyes. The elder was well past forty and had the look of a hard bitten soldier ingrained on his face. He was seated across from the younger man and appeared to be teaching him how to play poker.

It was a game Mu had never bothered to learn himself, despite his time in the military when gambling had beena serious sport. He preferred to keep his money where it belonged. In his pocket. Mu slowly walked up to the table and crossed his arms as he watched the game commence. He was in no hurry to interrupt and stood there, content to wait until the players noticed him. It took a hand or two, but the kid eventually glanced up. The young man stared at Mu uncertainly as his partner dealt the cards once again, attempting to explain some of the finer points of bluffing.

" And... Dan?" He looked up from the deck as he finished dealing and frowned at the young man's apparent lack of interest. "Are you listening to me?"

"Hmm?" Dan asked, turning his head but keeping his eyes on Mu. Birch looked to see what Dan found so interesting and seeing Mu he started from his chair and saluted in professional military style.

"Sir." He said briefly, standing at attention.

Mu straitened from his position against some oil containers and saluted back in his customary dismissive way.

"You two been in the service long?" He asked, nodding down at the matching green uniforms they wore.

"Twenty years sir, before I retired." Birch replied with a hit of pride. "I came on board and rejoined after Heliopolis."

Mu nodded, not even attempting to hide how impressed he was at the man's dedication. Twenty years was a large portion of any man's life, he wondered if he'd ever make it that long himself. He then turned to the younger Dan, who hadn't moved from his seat. "How about you?"

Dan opened his mouth as if to speak then shut it and looked away.

"I.. I'm sorry sir." Mu looked up to see Birch watching with a pained look in his eyes. "My nephew's family died at Heliopolis. He joined then."

"Oh." Mu said quietly and he mentally kicked himself. The last thing he wanted to do today was bring up death. "I'm... sorry to hear that."

"It's alright sir."

No one spoke for a long time and Mu shifted uncomfortably on his feet. If anything was worse than saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, it was awkward silences.

"So, I uh... understand you two were the ones who brought in the ZAFT pilot earlier."

Birch's face seemed to harden at mention of the pilot.

"Yes sir."

"Well then, I think you should know that I just came from a visit with the doctor." Mu gave Birch a meaningful look. "He was rather upset no one told him he had another patient that needed attention. Mind telling why that is?"

Out of the corner of his eye Mu saw some of the color in Dan's face disappear and he glanced up anxiously at his uncle. Birch on the other hand kept his face mask of steely calm.

"We have a very humane doctor, sir."

"No." Mu frowned. "I mean why he was never informed. From what I heard, that was supposed to be your job."

Birch was silent for a moment.

"I saw no reason to." He replied carefully.

"What?" Mu sputtered in disbelief. "You saw no reason to? That kid's arm is broken in three places! How much of a reason do you need?"

"More of one!" Birch snapped. The icy mask he had been wearing but moments before melted away and was replaced by hatred. "You call him a kid, but in no universe I know do kids commit the kind of monstrosities they have!"

"They? You mean coordinators?"

"Yes sir, I do!"

Birch's angry voice echoed across the large bay and all activity ceased as people looked over at them curiously.

Mu set his jaw and glared at the man.

"Don't you go forgetting Kira was a coordinator as well." His voice was hardly over a whisper, but it rung loud and clear in the still.

With that Mu turned his back and left.

* * *

**A/N:** Hello you guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I made it extra long in the hopes you wouldn't kill me for taking so long to update, but if you decide to anyway I can't say I'd blame you. lol

OK. Random notes:

1. A few of you have been asking about Athrun. I know it's taking me forever, but I promise he will be waking up within the next chapter or so and from there he will proceed to fulfill the evil destiny I have plotted out for him. *Evil laugh*

2. If any of you are wondering, Dearka's random reference to Athrun playing Juliet came from Mingathur's awesome fanfic "_Ten things about Athrun_."


	5. Chapter 4

Athrun could feel consciousness tugging at him from the outskirts of his mind, beckoning him to come and face the world. He resisted at first. He felt so warm, so safe in the dream land where nothing was important, and the only enemy you had to face were the nightmares from your own imagination. A place where the real world seemed as insignificant as the dream world was to everyone else. But the beckoning grew stronger the longer he stayed, and with reality came a dull pain from his all over his body.

He groaned irritably as he became aware of the light shining in his eyes and tried to roll onto his side to escape it. _I really have to talk to Rusty about leaving lights on..._ he thought wearily. But as soon as he put weight on his left side a piercing pain shot up his arm. Before he knew what was happening he was sitting bolt upright, a cry of pain his fresh on his lips.

Athrun grimaced at his unintentional outburst as well as the pain and moved his right arm to cradle his throbbing left. But something held it back. His heart skipped a beat as he felt the cold metal bracelet around his wrist. He whipped round to confirm what his brain already subconsciously knew. It was a pair of handcuffs. His eyes widened and wave of panic washed over him. He shook his wrist violently in an attempt to free himself from the chilly metal grip, but predictably, it did nothing.

"Wo, wo! Athrun! Settle down!" Athrun almost jumped out of his skin, not to mention the bed, at the unexpected voice.

"D... Dearka?" Athrun was breathing hard, but he felt himself calm down instinctively at the sight and sound of something familiar.

Dearka looked at him from the bed across, purple eyes blurred with sleep. "Yeah. You ok? You're shaking like that broken washing machine back at the Academy."

Athrun paused at the analogy and redoubled his efforts to regain control. He stopped and examined the bed's sickly white sheets and the doctor tools on the table beside the door. "W... Where are we?"

"The Archangel. Prisoners of war." Dearka said, with a light shrug as if the whole thing were perfectly natural.

Athrun frowned and tried to remember what had happened when he was last conscious.

"What happened?"

Dearka smirked. "Well, if you're asking how I got here, there was a pretty girl and I decided to drop by. What's your excuse?"

Athrun rolled his eyes and flopped back down on the bed, absently wishing he had a free hand to massage his temples with. "I don't know."

Closing his eyes he subconsciously ran through the events of the day. Waking up, getting changed, the meeting, sarcastic comments coming from-

"Hey Dearka. ...Where's Yzak?"

There was a short pause during which Dearka seemed to sober up.

"I was kinda hoping you knew. Last I saw, the Dual was down and Yzak wasn't replying to hails." The teen let out a nervous laugh. "I'm probably being stupid. It's not like he got a saber to the cockpit or anything. Heck, he's probably railing about our nerve at getting caught right now. But especially after Nic-" he stopped short and let out a heavy sigh. "Well, you never know, right?"

Athrun tried to run through the battle in his mind from beginning to end. But it was like attempting to remember a dream, or trying to grab water. The harder you tried, the more you lost.

It wasn't long before Dearka's award winning snores were heard in the room. Athrun did his best to block them out, but it wasn't much use. His snores could probably penetrate steel. Before long Athrun found he had gained a new appreciation for Yzak's temperament. Anyone who shared a room with the solar system's loudest sleeper was entitled to a bad mood.

Athrun could feel the snores slowly and painfully grating on his nerves. But despite it all his eyes started to droop.

He didn't even realize he had fallen asleep until the door of the infirmary opened and he felt himself jerked out of a light doze. A man wearing an EFA uniform entered, seeming a little distracted. Athrun remained silent, feeling more than content to simply watch and theorize possible ways to knock the man unconscious, search him for keys (or any other device that could be used for lock**-**picking) and hightail it out of there. He certainly wouldn't be winning any awards for some of the ideas he had, but it was a start.

"Oh hey, you're awake!"

Before Athrun had a chance to respond Dearka gave a sleepy snort and turned fitfully towards the wall. "No u'm not. Go away."

The man raised an eyebrow and gave Dearka's back a skeptical, yet amused look.

"Ok... Well, now that we have established that fact, " he turned back to Athrun, "the captain would like to see you."

Athrun's heart seemed to lose what footing it had in his chest and dropped into his stomach without consent. 'See' could only mean one thing coming from an enemy soldier. "You mean question me."

The soldier paused on his way to the door and looked back in mild surprise. "There are a few questions she'd like to ask, but I doubt it's what you're thinking."

"Right..." All feeling in Athrun's body clustered into his already questionable stomach, leaving the rest of him feeling numb and weak. He gripped the sheets of the bed and took a deep breath. There was nothing to worry about. According to the Geneva Convention he was protected from any harm. Right?

Somewhere in the background of his thoughts Athrun heard the door open and the man speak into what must have been a panel on the outside.

"Yeah Tonomura, this is Commander La Flaga. Inform the captain that the kid's awake and send down Alex and Jeremy. Thanks."

He came back in. "My name's Mu la Flaga by the way. It's nice to meet you!" He paused, and at Athrun's silence added "...well, now you're conscious anyway."

Athrun leaned back and examined the ceiling, feigning a detached cool to keep his real emotions from showing through. Talking was not something he felt like doing right now.

"So.." Mu pulled up a chair and sat in it back side front. "You're Athrun Zala I presume."

Athrun frowned and silently cursed the man for being the social type.

"That would be correct." He responded flatly, keeping his eyes fixed on the ceiling.

The man nodded thoughtfully. "Interesting last name."

"If you say so."

"Would you mind if I asked where you got it?"

Athrun's resolve not to make eye contact broke and he found himself glaring at the man beside him. "Where do you think?"

Mu shrugged. "I was guessing your father, but I heard that some women in PLANT, they... uh." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "You know... are unable to have kids because of their genetic make-up or something, and sometimes go to see a doctor to genetically create- or, uh... have a kids instead."

Athrun relaxed and returned his eyes to the ceiling, thinking of his fellow ZAFT red, Yzak. He'd never said anything, but it wasn't hard to guess. It was common knowledge that Eliza Joule wasn't married. It was possible there had been an affair and Yzak the result, but Athrun seriously doubted it. In PLANT, you generally had to find someone whose genetics matched your own perfectly to have children naturally. And besides, Yzak looked far too much like his mother for that to be likely anyway.

"So, could I ask who your father is then?"

Athrun gave the man a sharp look. But Mu's face was perfectly innocent, filled more with honest curiosity than malicious intent.

It was possible he didn't know who councilman Zala was. That he was Commander an Chief of the ZAFT army, the face of all Anti-Natural movement and the man who was currently winning the election for Chairman. But the more Athrun considered the possibility, the less likely he found it. It seemed much more likely he was trying to confirm Athrun was the man's son so the Earth Forces could use him to their advantage. Just like they had tried to do with Lacus.

Athrun looked back at the dark spec on the ceiling. Keeping his face and voice blank he replied. "That's not information I'm required to give you."

Mu shrugged, only looking a mite put out by the rebuke. "Fair enough."

He rose from his seat and not a moment later two armed men Athrun could only assumed were Jeremy and Alex entered. They greeted Mu then pulling out some keys, turned their attention towards him.

"Hey, wha's goin' on?"

They all turned to see Dearka half awake and staring at them with a somewhat quizzical look.

"Nothing special. We're just taking Athrun here to see the captain."

Dearka frowned, looking from the two armed guards to Mu then back to Athrun. Their eyes met and Athrun caught the worry in them before Dearka quickly and expertly replaced it with look of grudging indignation.

"How come Athrun gets a special audience with the captain and not me? What, am I not good enough or something?"

Mu raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying you _want _to be interrogated? I can't think of anything in particular we need to know right now. But if you're volunteering I'm sure I could come up with something."

"Hey, I never said I _wanted_ to be interrogated, but goodness only knows I could do a better job at it than this guy." He jerked his head towards Athrun, than smoothly settled back into his pillow with a thinly disguised smugness about him.

Athrun inwardly rolled his eyes. Only Dearka could pull off a line like that. How _anyone_ could be better at being interrogated than another was something he was sure he'd never figure out. But all the same, he appreciated the attempt and silently hoped their fear was unfounded.

"Right. I'll keep that in mind." Mu said, his eyebrow still in the same arched position and a slightly amused smile threatening his lips.

Receiving a nod from their superior, one of the guards removed the cuff around Athrun's wrist and tied both hands in front of him, making Athrun carry his right arm in an awkward position so as not to irritate his broken left which currently occupied a sling.

Turning around, Mu grabbed Athrun by his good right arm and pulled him to his feet. "Ok. Let's go."

* * *

**A/N: Yay! Another chapter down. ^^ For those of you who have been asking; no, I have absolutely no intention of abandoning this story. I'm afraid I do tend to forget I'm writing a story though, so don't feel shy about dropping me a note now and then to remind me. :)  
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**And as always, constructive criticism is welcome! Thanks again for reading! I hope you enjoyed. :)  
**


	6. Chapter 5

Mu chanced a glance at the young coordinator beside him as they walked down the long deserted halls. The only difference now from when he was asleep where his eyes. The maturity and seriousness behind them was startling to say the least. But then again, war had a way of doing that to people.

Mu turned and let out a small sigh, resisting the urge to run a tired hand over his face. He should be angry at the young man, furious that either he or one of his kind had killed Kira, and as Murrue had ordered the ship around to continue towards Alaska, he had been. But now, he found he just didn't have it in him. Whether it was due to the many friends he'd already lost to the war, the already emotionally exhausting day he'd had or his horrible habit of playing devils advocate to his fellow soldiers, he couldn't figure. Maybe it was all of the above, or maybe it was due to the fact that he'd met the culprit. But instead of finding an enemy, he'd found another youth, just as young and no doubt just as scarred by the war as Kira had been.

* * *

Athrun swallowed in an attempt to keep his heart from coming up his throat. Even if there was gravity, puking just wasn't something he really wanted to do right now. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to gather his nerves, Athrun busied himself with taking in the ship's interior trying to place where he was in the ship. After a moment of counting doors and watching side halls pass Athrun figured they'd be running into to main living quarters of the ship where most of the rooms and the mess hall was located. He perked up a bit curious to see just how undermanned the ship was.

"Wait, we're going this way."

Athrun was brought out of his thoughts by a firm hand on his shoulder, halting him in his tracks and nearly causing him to topple over. Looking to see who'd spoke Athrun saw Mu gesturing to a small side hall to the left.

"Sir?" The soldier who had stopped Athrun asked, "Isn't that the long wa-?"

Mu sent the soldier a sharp look and the man quickly shut his mouth and nodded taking a firm grip on Athrun's arm and leading him to follow the lieutenant down the offending hall. They walk in silence for a time but Athrun caught the soldier casting curious looks at his commander's back. Before too long the man turned to his companion and held up his hand letting him know he'd only be a moment and quickly jogged to short distance to where Mu lead.

Athrun watched with curiosity, peaking his ears in an attempt to listen in on their conversation.

"Sir?"

"Yes Alex?"

"Does this have anything to do with what happened earlier in the bay?"

Mu shrugged and when he replied Athrun almost missed it.

"It might..."

Alex nodded silently and returned to his spot beside Athrun. The rest of the walk was spent in silence and without so much as a glace of another member of Archangel's crew.


End file.
